7 Useful WhatsApp Tricks You’re Probably Not Using

WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app, and it offers more than just the ability to send a text or audio message. With the last few updates it has added some useful new features. Thanks to these new features, using the app is a lot easier and more comfortable. The features are not in plain sight, so you’ll need to use some already existing options in a new way.

The following are some of the best WhatsApp features and tricks that you are probably not aware of.

1. Record an Audio Message without Long-Pressing the Audio Button

Previously you had to press the audio button for the duration of recording an audio message. If your finger slipped, you would have to send a second audio message and try to remember where you left off.

By pressing the audio button, you’ll see two options. To the left you’ll see an option to discard the audio, but above the audio button is a lock. Slide your finger towards that lock and let go. Once you’ve done that, it will keep recording until you press the “Send” button.

2. Add an Image from Your Device’s Gallery as Chat Wallpaper

The default chat background is plain and boring. You’ll be happy to know that you can easily change it.

Open any conversation and tap on the three vertical dots at the top-right.

Select “Wallpaper” followed by the “Gallery” option. Select any image you have on your Android device, and it will appear in every conversation you open.

3. Useful WhatsApp Keyboard Shortcuts

If you are using WhatsApp Web to access WhatsApp from the desktop, you can use the following keyboard shortcuts and be more efficient.

Ctrl + N – Start new chat

Alt + F4 – Close

Ctrl + A – Select all

Ctrl + Shift + N – Start new group

Ctrl + Z – Undo

Ctrl + Shift + Z – Redo

Ctrl + P – Open profile status

Ctrl + V – Paste

Ctrl + C - Copy

Ctrl + X - Cut

Ctrl + F - Search

Ctrl + E – Archive chat

Ctrl + Shift + U – Mark as unread

Ctrl + Backspace – Delete chat

4. Insert an Emoji without Using the Mouse (WhatsApp Web)

Looking through all the emojis for the right one can be time-consuming. It’s even more frustrating when you find that the one you’re looking for is not even there. The fastest way to know if the emoji you’re looking for exists is by typing. For example, :car. As soon as you finish typing it, the emoji will appear (if WhatsApp has it).

4. Use More than One WhatsApp Account on the Same Computer (WhatsApp Web)

If you have two WhatsApp accounts that you need to have open, you can do this by opening an incognito window and signing in that way, or you can use another browser. That way you can have two WhatsApp accounts open on the same computer.

5. Erase Messages for Yourself or Everyone

With the updates WhatsApp has received, it added another must-have feature: being able to erase messages after sending them. If you’ve sent a message to the wrong person, just long-press on the message -> trash icon and you should see the option to either erase the message for yourself or everyone. Keep in mind that you only have an hour to delete a message after sending it.

6. Stop Auto-Download on Mobile Data

If your friends bombard you with media, this feature will come in handy when you’re using your mobile data. You can set things up so WhatsApp will only download media when you’re using Wi-Fi, and even then you can decide what the app can download and what it can’t.

Go to “Settings -> Data and storage usage” and make the necessary changes in the Media auto-download section. Just check the box of the type of media you don’t want.

7. Discover Which Contact/Group Is Using Too Much Storage

Storage is something that many Android users are cautious about. To see what contact is using up the most storage, go to “Settings -> Storage usage,” and the first contact on the list is the one that takes up the most storage.

By tapping on the contact you can see how many images, GIFs, videos, audio messages, and documents that contact sent you. If you want to erase all the media from that contact, tap on “Manage Messages” at the bottom-right. After you tap on it, check the media you want to erase, and uncheck the ones you want to keep.

Conclusion

Hopefully, WhatsApp will continue to bring more useful features with each update. What feature do you want to see in future updates? Let us know in the comments.